Analysis: Don't count on tighter herbicide restrictions anytime soon to help the Indian River Lagoon

ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Retta Rohm, research assistant with Ocean Research and Conservation Association, collects water samples from the south relief canal near McKee Botanical gardens along U.S. 1 in Vero Beach on Dec. 5. The ORCA crew is testing for herbicides and pesticides in the water that could later seep into the Indian River Lagoon. “We want to find out what’s in the environment, what’s causing this degradation, why are we seeing these changes in the water at such a drastic rate, too,” Rohm said.

ABOUT THIS INVESTIGATION

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers worked with the Ocean Research and Conservation Association to study whether herbicide runoff was affecting local waterways.

ORCA collected water and sediment samples in and around the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and WPTV NewsChannel 5 paid SunLabs in Tampa to test 18 samples for three chemical herbicides. All three chemicals were detected at one site, and one chemical was found at another.

ORCA said the test results will enable it to pursue funding for more studies of the lagoon’s herbicide pollution.

Those concerned about herbicides seeping into the Indian River Lagoon could wait a long time before they see government leaders tackle the problem.

Despite several governments’ recent push to regulate fertilizers, local elected leaders make it clear they won’t consider creating more rules for herbicide use in the foreseeable future.

Conservationists point to Florida’s historical aversion to environmental codes that infringe on property owners and industry. Expanding herbicide regulation is even less likely to happen with the governor and legislative majority openly opposed to stricter environmental oversight.

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and WPTV NewsChannel 5 paid to test 18 samples taken from the lagoon and St. Lucie River late last year to see whether herbicides leach into the waterways and possibly contribute to sea grass die off.

Traces of glyphosate, indaziflam and diquat were detected in Indian River County’s south relief canal. Diquat was found in sediment near Taylor Creek canal in Fort Pierce. The chemicals are blended into compounds such as Roundup and Rodeo and are used by governments, growers and landscapers to kill unwanted vegetation in canals and ditches.

Researchers and political leaders say more studies should be done, though their reasons differ.

Activists often complain the “more studies” mantra is a classic way for politicians to avoid potentially risky action, especially during a big election year. In this case, policymakers contend the traces of herbicide are the equivalent of gunpowder residue and not a smoking gun.

State Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, as well as U.S. Reps. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, and Bill Posey, R-Melbourne, have indicated they want more data gathered and analyzed before they’ll give much attention to herbicide pollution in the lagoon.

St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky gave a different reason for seeking further study: Amassing scientific data is the only way to overcome conservative lawmakers’ resistance to increased waterway protections.

Fertilizer runoff spurs algae blooms that overtake sea grass, yet it took years to pass rules to curb fertilizer use, he said. . And a state law requiring septic tank inspections was repealed in 2012.

“Unfortunately, the House Legislature has not been very environmentally friendly,” Dzadovsky said.

HIGH THRESHOLDS

State agencies show no inclination to regulate herbicides.

There are no caps on the amount of herbicides allowed in waterways. Instead, the state uses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended thresholds, which only cover amounts that can immediately harm aquatic life and not smaller doses that can cause gradual harm.

After expressing initial interest in Scripps raw data, a state Department of Environmental Protection official dismissed the recent herbicide findings as too low to merit more testing, let alone regulatory measures, because they didn’t approach the EPA’s thresholds.

“The results that we saw did not indicate to us there’s an issue of herbicides affecting the water body,” said Tom Frick, director of DEP’s environmental assessment and water restoration. “There needs to be the evidence to justify the effort to go out there.”

But low-level pollutants in water can prove harmful to fish, animals and people, as an Associated Press investigative report showed.

The 2009 report looked at pharmaceuticals tainting water supplies across the country. The drugs are hazardous because, like many chemicals, they aren’t filtered from drinking water.

Throughout the report, scientists emphasized that although the drugs weren’t at high enough levels to cause, say, a seizure, they can have corrosive health effects when ingested in steady micro-doses over time.

No one knows how herbicides in local waterways can affect public health, Falls said.

A watchdog group contends EPA guidelines on water pollution are an example of government accommodating industries that sell and spray chemicals.

“The thresholds, in my opinion, are designed to facilitate the application of those chemicals rather than protect public health,” said Josh Vincent, spokesman for the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, based in Eugene, Ore.

SCOTTS STUDY

For years, ORCA’s Edie Widder and Falls wondered whether herbicides might run into the lagoon and St. Lucie River. They also were curious about whether these contaminants might have an insidious effect on sea grass, an essential part of the lagoon’s food web.

ORCA collected samples for the herbicide testing. Detecting traces of the chemicals in such a small number of samples within a 50-mile area validates the need for more intensive study, Falls said.

Negron, Murphy and Indian River County Commissioner Tim Zorc all have suggested using Kilroys and Lobos to scan the water for herbicides. The floating devices monitor conditions such as salinity and temperatures, and can be equipped with sensors to expand their capabilities.

However, Falls said he knows of no sensors that can be installed to check for herbicides.

ORCA instead will glean hundreds of samples in two relief canals for the $600,000 study that Scotts Miracle Gro is sponsoring. Scotts aims to gauge whether fertilizer nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, hurt the lagoon worse than other pollutants.

The study is expected to begin by May. An independent panel of scientists, environmentalists and government officials will be formed to monitor the study, and the results will be made public.

Researchers will test for herbicides much more than they would have if none of the chemicals had been found in the 18 samples taken last year, Falls said.

Falls hopes the Scotts study will offer further proof of herbicide pollution and pinpoint the worst culprits — whether they’re citrus groves, government sites or homes — so state agencies will do their own testing and perhaps impose more restrictions.

Falls agreed with Dzadovsky that more scientific data is needed to persuade state leaders to pass more rules to curb herbicide use.

A big problem is the lack of information not only on the three herbicides detected but how they interact with other chemicals in the water to affect seagrass and wildlife, Falls said.

“There is no answer to that question,” Falls said. “It’s scary. They (vendors) tell the counties that it’s OK in the water, with no data to back it up.”